CPS: Good Conduct certificate not good enough

July 29, 2010|By Dawn Turner Trice

Darrell Langdon made a mistake more than two decades ago. A Cook County judge believes Langdon deserves a second chance. Until Monday, Chicago Public Schools officials didn't — but, in response to my questions, they're taking a second look.

In 1985, Langdon was convicted of possessing a half gram of cocaine. Though the amount qualified as a felony, he only had to serve six months of probation and pay a $100 fine.

At the time, Langdon had been employed by CPS for four years as a boiler room fireman, a job he was allowed to keep after his conviction.

"They sent me to the employee assistance program for rehab," said Langdon, now 52. "I did so well that I was eventually called on to tell my story and help others with their addictions."

Langdon worked for CPS until 1995, when he was laid off as part of a major restructuring effort. After leaving CPS, Langdon worked as a mortgage broker until the market went bust in 2008.

That's when he decided to return to CPS, applying for the position of stationary engineer (or boiler room engineer). In his August 2008 job application, Langdon said, he disclosed his criminal record. During the next 16 months, he interviewed three times and took an aptitude test and another test that assessed his plumbing, electrical and boiler room skills.

In late January, it appeared the lengthy process finally had paid off. CPS told him he was hired, pending a background check. Just days after he signed his new employee paperwork, CPS informed him they'd learned of his 1985 conviction and that he was ineligible for hire.

Langdon said he's been sober since April 5, 1988, and has never looked back. He also, as a single parent, reared two sons. He now works as a building engineer for a Chicago hospital that pays less than the $37.50 per hour the CPS job pays.

On one hand, this is a story about whether a person with more than two decades of sobriety who has turned his life around deserves and has earned a second chance.

But it's also about the law. For years, Langdon wouldn't have been allowed to return to CPS regardless of his rehabilitation. The Illinois School Code prohibits a list of ex-offenders from working in public schools, including people with criminal records for sex offenses and other violent crimes. But the list also includes people convicted of lesser crimes, such as Langdon.

It didn't seem fair to lump the two groups together.

Last year, the Safer Foundation, which helps people with criminal records find employment, led the charge for an expansion of the pool of offenses eligible for a court-granted Certificate of Good Conduct, which vouches for a person's rehabilitation, lifting a barrier to employment.

Under the newly revised law, people with lower-grade felonies — including forcible felonies that did not result in "great bodily harm or permanent disability" — can petition the court for the certificate, which can then be used in applying for jobs, though the employer has final say.

A judge decides if giving the candidate a certificate is in the public's interest. Sex offenders and other violent criminals remain ineligible.

Langdon received his certificate on April 28, the first in Cook County granted under the expansion that took effect Jan. 1.

Beth Johnson, a Cabrini Green Legal Aid attorney, represented Langdon before Cook County Judge Paul Biebel. She said they pursued the certificate because Langdon's felony conviction made him ineligible for having his record expunged.

"It was (Langdon's) testimony that the judge relied upon and his letters of reference and support that made the difference," said Johnson. "He talked eloquently about how he got sober and what he does to maintain his sobriety."

Though the certificate allows CPS to hire him, the law still gives the district the final word. Until I began asking about Langdon's case, that word had been a firm "No."

But now CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond says the CPS' review committee will take a second look at Langdon's case.

"This individual sounds like he did everything he should be doing to rehabilitate himself into professional and private community," said Bond. "We're glad to see that, but the delicate balance is that we have to ensure we're hiring people who won't put our children in jeopardy."

So I asked Bond how the review committee made its determination the first time.

"To be honest, it wasn't clear what exactly the review committee examined when they made the decision, so we're going to go back to look at it," said Bond.

There are no guarantees Langdon will be hired. He told me that he's always only wanted a fair shake in a job for which he's qualified.

Langdon told me that he decided to pursue the job with CPS because the pay is good and he grew up loving the work.

"I was raised in a boiler room because my father was a stationary engineer," said Langdon, who keeps his late father's engineering license in a folder next to his. "This is who I am."

He said now he's hoping CPS will give him the job he believes he's earned.